Toronto Jewish Records
Toronto Jewish Marriages, 1858-1898, 1905-1911, 1920-1923, 1926-1936
Includes a range of listings (1890s to the present) from printed marriage announcements from diverse sources.
Background: This is an index of more than 5,200 records of marriages that took place mostly in Toronto in varied years ranging from 1905 to 1936. The main source is the York County Civil Marriage Records at the Ontario Archives. Also included are some 400 marriages performed by Rabbi Yehuda Leib Graubart. Several dozen records from Holy Blossom Congregation, dating from the 1850s to the 1890s, were added in May 2023; they are marked as “HB” in the Comments field. Some listings from the 1890s to the present from printed marriage and engagement announcements from diverse sources, plus a number of “stray” records from other towns, are being added continuously.
Details: These indexes were compiled from microfilmed copies of handwritten records that were sometimes very difficult to read; transcription errors are therefore inevitable. Words were usually transcribed exactly as they appeared, despite apparent spelling errors in the original.
In general, our specialized transcribers are far more likely to recognize and decipher Yiddish and Hebrew names than non-specialists used at other sites. As a result, marriages may be found here that might not surface elsewhere.
Rabbi Graubart was chief rabbi to Toronto’s Polish Jews during the 1920s and 1930s. Four of his original marriage registers, dating from 1926 to 1936, were accessed at the Ontario Jewish Archives.
A special feature of the Graubart registers is that they routinely show the towns of birth: many such towns, including Staszow, Ostrowice, Kielce, Radom, Lagow and Sandomierz, lie in the heartland of the region from which a preponderance of Toronto Polish-Jewish immigrants originated. Please note that a counterpart record exists in the provincial registers for most if not all of the Graubart records, so duplication is to be expected. However, unique details will likely appear in each record.
Years: York County records, 1905 (partial), 1906-1911, 1920, 1922, 1923 (partial), 1928-1932. Graubart records, 1926-1936. Holy Blossom fonds, Ontario Archives, 1858-1898.
Instructions: For best results, fill in one box only. A dropdown list will show spellings from actual records. Input one surname to start (minimum 3 characters). A maximum of 48 results will be returned, 24 per page. N.B.: Make sure to remove previous search terms before beginning a new search. ♦
Note: If you experience a problem using a Safari browser, please try Chrome, Firefox, Edge, etc. if necessary.
UPDATES: 1250 new records added on Nov. 10 2019 ¶ 500 new records added on Sept.1 2019 ¶ 350 new records added on Aug. 29, 2020 <¶ new records continuously being added from June 2021 ¶ 400 new records added, Nov 2021 ¶ Updated July 2022 ¶ Added some 1923 records, Aug 2022 ¶ Some early marriage records (1850s-1890s) from Holy Blossom marriage registers added May 2023. ¶ Some newly-found marriage records from 1910 were added, May 2023.¶ Some “stray” records added May2023. ¶ Added more new records, Jun 2023. ¶ Plus a range of listings (1890s-2020) from published marriage announcements from diverse sources (May 2024).
For further information on the Graubart marriage records, please visit the website of the Ontario Jewish Archives.
